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Looking for you guys' opinions regarding contests!

I've asked SweetMay about trying to revive and reboot this fan-art page, I mean let's face it, this sub-forum is pretty dead. Now instead of repeating what I messaged SM about, I'll just ask you eager/beginner/elite/veteran spriters!

Would you guys be interested in another WSC-sort thing on this sub-forum again? Do you think it'll help in reviving this place?

I am greatly anticipating the revival of the WSC, or something similar, I think it's what we need. I would have tried to myself, but I just don't have the time. I'd be willing to contribute if someone else can do it. So yes, I would be interested, and I think it would help, what with X and Y getting rid of the sprites.

Well, I've been trying to get into making art, so I'll go for this. Count me in! Although I now know WSC stands for, I have no clue what it is. o_O

And yes, with X/Y taking out sprites, a lot of people would say why try to revive it? Well, think of it like the dinosaurs. Pretend we are a few years in the future. Sprites are extinct dinos. Yet we still try to search for bones of them. So, to me if GameFreak is ditching sprites, that's a signal for all fan artists out there to go absolutely crazy nuts.

Originally Posted by -Raiga-

Not to be cynical, but a contest is something you do for something that already has a sustainable popularity. The Fan-sprites section is and always will be DEAD, just let it be.

If you're going to make a spriting contest, do it on Deviantart, quite literally the only place with a community of spriters left. Plus it would be something new, rather then rehashing the old.

Like I said, not trying to be a downer, but if the last 5 "revivals" didn't work this one won't either.

I'm not trying to start a argument here, but if the sprite community is dying, why shouldn't we try to save it? If GameFreak ditches the sprites, and everybody does exactly what GF does, then:

A: Might as well ditch fan art altogether; if we only accept what GF does as what we, as fans with the no restrictions, can do, then how are we any different from GF? It's called fan art for a reason.

B: Like the dinosaurs thing I mentioned earlier; if a certain type a fan art is dying, then that's not a reason that we just abandon it. If you were the only person in the world who loved dogs/cats/whatever, and everyone else just said "oh, let's all abandon dogs to extinction", would you just say "okay, I'll jump on the bandwagon and let my favorite animal go extinct and not do a single thing in my power to save it"?

Also, I know you didn't mean to pop anyone's bubble, but a lot of the time, when someone has a hope for something, if someone comes up to you and says "oh it won't work; might as well give up", that would be pretty discouraging.

I'm not trying to start a conflict, honestly and truly. I'm really very sorry if this offended anyone (not that I see how it could), but if it did, I didn't mean it.

1. For starters, when the fan-sprites forum was actually dying I was the first one to come up with the community project to revitalize it.(there have been FOUR more projects that came and gone after that failed) 2. Of the most recent 4 posts in this forum, which span about a couple months if I remember right, mine is one of them. 3. In the most recent WSC revival I organized the hall of fame and all that good stuff.

My point being that I've already done more then most anybody else has combined to revive it, so don't come to me with saying I have no hope.

Anyways, like I said your comparison make zero sense. This isn't a dying rare breed, this is a 2003 computer in 2013. Sprites existed due to graphic limitations, ones that do not exist anymore. During R/S/E, pokemon spriting's heyday, kids like me could use our new computers to make sprites on the level of what the games we were playing were! It was popular because you didn't have to be an artist to look good, all you had to do was chop and paste. Fastforward to 2013, people aren't impressed by a cruddy recolored shadow pokemon, or a dragonite/hydreigon fusion.

Now pixel art will NEVER die, the difference is that now like any other form of art, it actually has to be impressive, which is why it still thrives on sites like deviantart where many talented artists congregate.

I'm still spriting and I intend to continue doing so in the future to come - the medium isn't fossilized yet, and seeing the kind of work people like GetaZ still produce only inspires me to improve my own skills and aim for the same level one day.

And despite what I said, I will participate if you actually can get it up and running.

I'm merely saying it wouldn't be a bad idea to try and get it going on multiple sites, and have the voting take place here, thereby increasing traffic. If nothing else veteran spriters would post their old sprites here providing inspiration to rookies.

Just to make sure you guys don't think I'm not gone, I've just been waiting for your responses. Despite what others in the game industry thinks, Raiga is absolutely right, Pixel Art will always be a medium that games/artists revisit.

From the amount of responses, I still think we need more. Remember the good ol' days of the WSCs? Where spriters from every corner of the internets came to compete? I would like to confirm that we can be as strong as that time was before we can start up contests again! So to those who agreed to the contest, if possible, please invite your fellow spriters here please so we can have more of a variety of participants.

Aha, it's only been 18 days! Thats not a month! So I can still post here! ...right? Regardless...

Ah, sprites... Fun fact: Thats where i got my beginning.

Say what you will about X/Y killing the sprites... but I highly disagree with that statement. I've been watching the fan art shops for a while now, as it is my major trade here on Serebii (Fan Fic being #2). And, well, I have to say...
Sprites have been dying for quite sometime. Far before X/Y were even announced.

Why?
I think it has to do with what they were used for. Think about it: What can you even do with them? Like, seriously. People used to use them for userbars and all sorts of little things in their sigs, but as new and better artists came up and offered really good banners, people went to those. Not many people ask for sprites anymore. The only form of spriting that sees any major interest is animated recolors, because at least that is 5th gen tech and you can use it for userbars. This is also why I tell new spriting shops to develop banners to offer as soon as they can if they ask for advice. There's just no interest in spriting at the moment.

BUT... But...

I believe we can possibly rekindle it, but it would take a lot of effort and, well, a lot of luck. See, spriting is a brilliant place for new fan art shop owners to get their start. You dont need any sort of programs besides paint to do it, and its helpful in seeing if you have a knack for spriting or not. I think some of the most popular shops out there got their start with spriting, with exception of only a few. Heck, that's how i started. (Not that I'm bragging or anything, I really don't want to seem pretentious...)

I'd love to help you guys out with starting up a contest in anyway I can. It's funny, actually, i was thinking earlier today that i would love to enter some spriting contests...
Just keep in mind that you probably wont see much interest unless we get some big names from the fan art sections to enter. I seen PPL up there, but i know her shop closed... Of course, I'd enter it as well.

i think you should just do the contest and poll the actual entries and opinions over the first few weeks. then if people don't like it or there isn't enough traffic, consider your options and change the contest accordingly.

i think it's important that you keep it and its rules as simple as possible. /imho

I think that if we want to get sprites back on the map (or at on the forum list in this case) we need to start ASAP. The sooner we start the sooner we can hopefully at least try to restore this forum to its former glory. But this won't happen with just one sprite competition every fortnight or so. We also need to conjure up our own individual sprite galleries, otherwise it will still only be one or two threads active. It would also encourage those who are too shy, intimidated, etc. to post their sprites so that those of us who have experience and knowledge can share our experience and knowledge and use them to help others progress with their spritework.

Regarding the contest, I say just go for it and see what the results are. Then, depending on how many replies it gets, we can decide what to do next.

I'd be interested in entering sprite contests; I want to keep spriting but never really find the motivation to do it, which a frequent contest should help with. I can't offer to run it, since I'm coming up to my exams and terrible running such things anyway, but I'm interested.

Well guys, how about this, I'll give Reaper until Sunday to respond and see if he wants to run the thing. If he doesn't respond or doesn't want to do it, then-

On Monday around 6:00a.m.(central), I'll post the first week's competition thread.

As I mentioned before, other sites like Pokecommunity are in the same situation we are, so I'm going to try and get a WSC thread in any formerly major spriting hub to try and generate one large scale success. If anyone knows of any sites that fit this bill, please v.m. or p.m. me, thanks!